Coach Dino Toppmöller’s successful debut in a competitive game at Eintracht Frankfurt quickly became a minor matter after firecrackers were thrown and the game was interrupted.
Supporters of the regional league club 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig ensured that both teams had to be sent into the dressing room for around 15 minutes in the final phase of the first round match in the DFB Cup.
The finalist from the previous season from Hesse won 7-0 (1-0) and progressed, but after that the main focus was on the chaos in the stands and the ugly scenes in the interior. According to TV images, pyrotechnics also flew from the home spectators’ area near their own fans in wheelchairs.
“Not good for football”
“Sad world,” said Leipzig coach Almedin Civa on pay-TV broadcaster Sky: “We’re preparing a huge party here and then there are some (…) who destroy everything.” A large police presence gathered during the break in the second half. Civa spoke of the fact that there was “a huge blockade in society” and denounced “hate, hate, hate”. “The only thing that calms me down is that I’m convinced it’s the minority,” said the regional league coach. However, the majority “shut up”.
Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller also criticized the actions of parts of the Leipzig fans. “It’s never nice, overall it damages the club’s image and overall it’s not nice for football,” said the 42-year-old. The game was interrupted in the 73rd minute due to firecrackers and pyrotechnics being thrown from the block of the locomotive fans. Referee Michael Bacher sent both teams into the dressing room when the score was 3-0. According to the police, the firecrackers were thrown out of the locomotive fan block.
In terms of sport, Frankfurt had some problems at times, but progress was never in serious danger. Scorer Randal Kolo Muani (37th minute) gave the visitors the lead. Mario Götze (59′) made it 2-0 in front of 11,100 spectators in the sold-out Bruno Plache Stadium, before Omar Marmoush (66′), Junior Dina Ebimbe (83’/90′ 14) and Jessic Ngankam (89’/90′). 90. 10) further increased.
Leipzig with a chance to lead
The 42-year-old Toppmöller did better than his two predecessors when it came to progressing: Under Adi Hütter, Frankfurt lost in the first round at SSV Ulm (1: 2) in 2018 and with Oliver Glasner in 2021 at Waldhof Mannheim (0: 2).
The successor club to the first German champions VfB Leipzig (1903) started boldly and had the chance to take the lead through goalscorer Djamal Ziane. Eintracht remained unimpressed, had the match under control with a lot of possession, but was not convincing enough in front of the opposing goal. Lok set the next exclamation mark when Tobias Dombrowa (35′) almost scored the lead with a header into the far corner. Almost in return, the 1:0 came through Kolo Muani, who fired from an acute angle. After the change, the game flattened out, but Eintracht continued to score.
Even after the interruption, pyrotechnics continued to be ignited. The police had classified the encounter before kick-off as a high-risk game, also because Eintracht maintains a fan friendship with locomotive rivals Chemie Leipzig.
Locomotive trailers hinder the departure of Eintracht fans
After the game, locomotive supporters got into arguments with the police. The police said there had been attempts to break through police barriers and get to the departing guest fans. There were also delays on departure because the emergency brake was probably pulled on a tram. In addition, locomotive fans threw garbage cans on a street not far from the stadium.
The police were deployed in large numbers to separate the two fan camps. The game was classified as a high-risk game. Lok lost the first round encounter 0:7 against the Bundesliga club. The game had to be temporarily interrupted because rockets and other pyrotechnics were fired from the home block. The police were also present in large numbers in the stadium.
